As produce growers scramble to find legal help, positions certified under the Department of Labor’s H-2A agricultural guest worker program have expanded 43% in the last two years.

And, with questions about immigration enforcement and reform efforts under the Trump administration, the trend will continue, said Jon DeVaney, vice-chairman of the National Council of Agricultural Employers and executive director of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

DeVaney said Jan. 16 there is a lot of discussion about what might be included in a Capitol Hill spending bill necessary to avoid a government shutdown January. Some of the possibilities include a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and possibly other elements relating to immigration reform and enforcement.

“What I’m hearing it is really uncertain what may be included, and there is a strong desire to include a DACA fix and limited funding for border enforcement,” he said. On the other hand, there have been other proposals floated in the House that would do broader immigration reform — including agricultural guest worker program reform and mandatory E-verify.

H-2A growth

A tightening labor market in general — and especially for agriculture — have more growers turning to the H-2A program.“It is not the easiest program to use, but it is basically the only option available,” he said.

In particular, DeVaney said as the program grows, the Department of Labor is finding it difficult to keep pace with the need for more H-2A workers.

Department of Labor statistics show the number of positions certified for the program have increased from 139,832 in fiscal year 2015 to 200,049 positions in fiscal year 2017, for the year ending Sept. 30.

DeVaney said each year for the past decade or so has seen an increase in H-2A workers and it’s a safe bet it will expand in 2018.

“The more there is discussion around additional internal immigration enforcement, the more employers feel the need to make sure they have workers whose documentation is in order, which necessitates a shift to the H-2A program,” DeVaney said.

The top five states for the H-2A program workers in fiscal year 2017 were Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington and California.